Gilbert M. Reich

Gilbert M. “Gil” Reich, 87, of Barrington, IL, died April 22, 2019.  Gil was born in Steelton, PA on September 28, 1931, son of Mathias and Josephine Reich.

Gil married Kay Lambert of Leavenworth, KS. on June 9, 1954. They were married for 64 years.

He was a retired Executive Vice President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, now known as AXA Equitable, with 35 years of service in Chicago, Milwaukee and New York. At retirement Gil and Kay moved to Skidaway Island, Savannah, GA where they resided for 14 years before moving to The Garlands of Barrington. He was a Civil Engineering graduate of the University of Kansas in 1954 followed by two years of active duty as a Commissioned Officer in the United States Air Force in Lake Charles, LA.

Gil was an Eagle Boy Scout, member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at KU and Chairman of the Kansas University Alumni Association in 2001-2002.  He was selected to the Football Writers and Grantland Rice All-American team in 1952; the #2 draft choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1953; #11 draft choice of the Boston Celtics in 1953; and was an inductee in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, University of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and NCAA Silver Anniversary Basketball All-American in 1978. Gil was a starting guard on the 1953 Kansas basketball team that lost to Indiana University in the finals of the NCAA tournament by one point.

During his years in Barrington, he was a member of the Barrington Hills Country Club, a Director of the Barrington Area Community Foundation, Trustee of JourneyCare Hospice and Trustee of the Village of Barrington Firefighters Pension Board.

Gil is survived by his wife of 64 years, Kay Lambert Reich; three daughters, Linda Hovde of Barrington, Gretchen (Terry) Pennington of Benicia, CA, Lucy (Bruce) Hurd of Washington D.C. He has ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren. His brother, James Reich of Bath, PA survives him. Gil was preceded in death by his brother, Richard Reich.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 3 at 11 a.m. at St. Anne Catholic Church, 120 Ela St (coroner of Franklin and Ela St), Barrington, where the family will be receiving friends from 9:30 a.m. until the time of mass.  Interment will be private in St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery, Palatine.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in his name to JourneyCare Hospice, 405 Lake Zurich Rd, Barrington, IL 60010, https://journeycare.org/, or to the Kansas University Endowment Association, PO Box 928, Lawrence, KS 66044-0928, https://www.kuendowment.org/Home, or to the Barrington Area Community Foundation, 18-5 East Dundee Rd., Suite 300, Barrington, IL 60010, https://barringtonareacommunityfoundation.org/make-a-donation/